Scottish Executive

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1960 by Ms Margaret Curran on 3 September 2003, on what specific practical issues relating to the dispersal of asylum seekers ministers have written to the Home Office.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive has written to the Home Office about the discontinuation of a pilot scheme of holding asylum interviews in Glasgow and the work of the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1625 by Ms Margaret Curran on 19 August 2003, whether it will now seek a meeting with the Home Office regarding the fingerprinting and photographing of visitors to the Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive regularly meets with the Home Office and raises a number of issues at these times.

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans for a recognised funded qualification course for rehabilitation workers for blind and partially sighted people.

Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive is aware that the Diploma of Higher Education in Rehabilitation Studies offered at the Guide Dogs for the Blind School of Vision and Rehabilitation Studies is at present on its final intake. The Social Work Services Inspectorate have seconded an expert from the field of visual impairment for six months to review the situation and establish best alternatives to this course and the future provision of rehabilitation workers in the immediate and longer terms.

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many training places are available for rehabilitation workers for blind and partially sighted people.

Euan Robson: The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association's School of Vision and Rehabilitation Studies in Glasgow offers training for rehabilitation workers in Scotland. Over the past 11 years in excess of 300 students have completed courses to qualify as rehabilitation workers. The most recent intake on the full-time Diploma of Higher Education in Rehabilitation Studies - the entry level qualification for becoming a rehabilitation worker - had nine students.

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications of the introduction of free eye tests are for low-vision services.

Mr Tom McCabe: None.

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued any advice to NHS boards on the assessment for, and issuing of, low-vision aids to registered blind and partially sighted people.

Malcolm Chisholm: No such advice has been issued.

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the waiting times are for an assessment for low-vision aids in each NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available centrally. Information on waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant, following GP referral, is collected at specialty level only. The assessment for low-vision aids is undertaken in the specialty of ophthalmology.

  The median waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in ophthalmology, following GP referral, in the year ended 30 June 2003, in each NHS board area, is given in the table.

  NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for a First Out-Patient Appointment with a Consultant in the Specialty of Ophthalmology, Following Referral by a General Medical Practitioner, by NHS Board Area of Residence. Year Ended 30 June 2003P

  

 NHS Board
 Median 
  Wait (Days)


 Argyll and Clyde
 84


 Ayrshire and Arran
 60


 Borders
 55


 Dumfries and Galloway
 60


 Fife
 56


 Forth Valley
 73


 Grampian
 75


 Greater Glasgow
 124


 Highland
 108


 Lanarkshire
 147


 Lothian
 56


 Orkney*
 -


 Shetland*
 -


 Tayside
 50


 Western Isles*
 -


 Scotland
 79



  PProvisional.

  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Note:

  *Information not shown due to small numbers (less than 100).

Care of Elderly People

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current level of the Personal Expense Allowance is and whether it has any plans to increase it.

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken any research on the daily living expenses required by residents of care homes under the Personal Expense Allowance.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA) for care home residents was increased to £17.50 per week last April. Although no specific research was undertaken, this increase was more than the rate of inflation and was in line with both average earnings and the uprating of equivalent sums in benefits. The PEA will be updated again in April 2004.

  Besides the PEA, other resources are available to many residents who are supported by local authorities. These include capital under £11,500, which residents can retain to use as they choose, and a new savings disregard of up to £4.50 per week that the Scottish Executive is proposing for certain older residents from 6 October, in response to the introduction of Pension Credit. The introduction of free personal care also allows certain residents to retain more of their income for personal use.

Communities

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive where "good neighbour" declarations are being piloted, as referred to in A Partnership for A Better Scotland , and how they will be evaluated and utilised.

Ms Margaret Curran: The principle of Good Neighbour Declarations has been woven into the funding requirements of the "Building strong, safe and attractive communities funding programme", where they are referred to as neighbourhood compacts. Local authorities are required to underpin bids with neighbourhood compacts, which set out the standards of behaviour expected of local residents and the support and services delivered by relevant agencies. All local authorities are expected to identify where these neighbourhood compacts will apply. They will be evaluated as part of the funding programme evaluation.

Courts

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances a court can recover fines through (a) civil diligence and (b) deductions from benefits.

Cathy Jamieson: Section 221 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 provides that in any case in which a court may think it expedient, it may issue a warrant to order a fine to be recovered by civil diligence.

  Section 24 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 provides that where any fine has been imposed on an offender, the court may apply for the fine to be recovered by means of deductions from income support benefit or income-based jobseekers allowance. The application will be considered by an officer acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who will determine whether there is sufficient entitlement to income support or income-based jobseekers allowance to make a deduction and whether there are any competing priorities for payments to third parties.

Digital Technology

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Northern Ireland Executive regarding its tender process for the introduction of 100% broadband coverage in Northern Ireland.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive is in discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on a wide range of matters, including broadband.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the McCrone agreement has had on the ability of schools to offer supported study and homework classes after the timetabled school day.

Peter Peacock: The teachers’ agreement A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century introduced a 35-hour working week, which will be combined with a class contact time restricted to a maximum of 22.5 hours per week by August 2006. The use of the remaining time is subject to agreement at school level, including activities such as additional time for preparation and correction, parent meetings, curriculum development and additional supervised pupil activity. This can include supported study programmes and homework classes.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on faculty-style departments in secondary schools.

Peter Peacock: The agreement A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century provides for an improved and simplified career structure for all teachers. The agreement also provides for local negotiation and enhances the flexibility to determine staffing issues at local level.

  Within the framework of the agreement, it is therefore a matter for local authorities to decide what staffing structures best suit their local needs. However, existing experience suggests that faculty-style departments are already working well in many schools, and can contribute to increasing both the quality of management resources and the teaching resources available within a school. As such, it would be inappropriate for the Scottish Executive to intervene.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of pupils in mainstream education are taking prescribed medication to control or modify their behaviour.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally. Prescription data collected centrally are not patient-specific and do not record the condition for which the medicine has been prescribed.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools in each local authority area run supported study or homework classes after the timetabled school day.

Peter Peacock: A breakdown of the number of schools participating in the Scottish Executive’s Study Support programme at March 2003 is given in the following table. Information on supported study or homework classes funded from any other source is not held centrally.

  

 Aberdeen City Council
 12


 Aberdeenshire Council
 173


 Angus Council
 8


 Argyll and Bute Council
 92


 Clackmannanshire Council
 22


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 41


 Dumfries and Galloway Council
 16


 Dundee City Council
 10


 East Ayrshire Council
 55


 East Dunbartonshire Council
 29


 East Lothian Council
 45


 East Renfrewshire Council
 31


 City of Edinburgh Council
 139


 Falkirk Council
 40


 Fife Council
 48


 Glasgow City Council
 205


 The Highland Council
 35


 Inverclyde Council
 43


 Midlothian Council
 43


 Moray Council
 12


 North Ayrshire Council
 67


 North Lanarkshire Council
 164


 Orkney Islands Council
 2


 Perth and Kinross Council
 40


 Renfrewshire Council
 64


 Scottish Borders Council
 31


 Shetland Islands Council
 22


 South Ayrshire Council
 58


 South Lanarkshire Council
 95


 Stirling Council
 21


 West Dunbartonshire Council
 38


 West Lothian Council
 32

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been, and will be, carried out into the effects of supported study or homework classes.

Peter Peacock: In June 2001 the Department for Education and Skills published a report entitled The Impact of Study Support containing the findings of a longitudinal study carried out by the Quality of Education Centre at the University of Strathclyde. Four schools in Scotland were involved in the research which found firm evidence in all the schools studied that pupils who participate in study support do better than would have been expected from baseline measures in academic attainment, attitudes to school and attendance at school.

  Arrangements are currently being made for an evaluation of the impact of the Executive’s Study Support programme.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether schools considering running supported study or homework classes after the end of the timetabled school day would have a guaranteed right of access to classroom facilities in schools managed under PPP or PFI schemes.

Peter Peacock: Access to facilities in such schools out of timetabled school hours is for individual local authorities to determine within the PPP contract.

Elections

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what directions it has made to electoral registration officers on ensuring that all marked registers from the Parliament general election in 2003 are returned to the appropriate sheriff clerks and what information it has received that such registers are now with sheriff clerks.

Tavish Scott: Matters relating to electoral registration and Scottish Parliamentary elections are reserved and for the Scotland Office and the Electoral Commission.

Emergency Planning

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to decontaminate members of the public in the event of a chemical or dirty bomb terrorist attack.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Ambulance Service has eight mobile decontamination units manned by specialist teams that would deploy to an incident. The Scottish Fire Service also has four mass decontamination units capable of decontaminating 200 people per hour and a further two units will be commissioned shortly. In addition, mobile decontamination facilities have been provided at hospital accident and emergency departments throughout Scotland.

Entitlement Cards

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in relation to a national voluntary citizen's entitlement card.

Mr Andy Kerr: Our Partnership Agreement confirms we will evaluate the local pilot projects in order to assess the desirability of creating a national voluntary citizen’s entitlement card for appropriate public services in Scotland. The Smartcard consortium partners, consisting of 11 local authorities, have been allocated over £5.8 million funding from the second round of the Executive’s Modernising Government Fund. Under the Dialogue Youth programme, further funding has been allocated to develop a young person’s version of the card.

  The consortium have appointed a programme manager and put in place a governance structure which will ensure they can assess and report the business case and strategic framework for public sector smartcard applications by June 2004. In addition, the consortium partners are pursuing specific smartcard applications with groups of citizens. Applications include cashless catering in schools, school registration, concessionary fares and access to leisure and library services among others.

  Aberdeen City Council is the first council to roll out the card - initially for concessionary travel and to all students and staff at the council's secondary schools - and around 35,0000 cards have been issued. Similarly, under the national Dialogue Youth Programme five councils, including Aberdeen, have begun to issue cards to young people; to date some 79,000 cards have been issued.

Finance

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) running costs and (b) staffing costs of the Financial Partnerships Unit have been for each year since 1997 and how many staff have been employed within the unit in each of these years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Financial Partnerships Unit (FPU) was established in December 2002. Prior to this the costs of the Private Finance Unit were budgeted for as part of a larger finance division and separate figures for the unit are not readily available. The estimated running costs, staffing costs and number of staff employed for FPU is shown in the following table for 2002-03 and 2003-04.

  

 Financial Year
 Running Costs
 Staffing Costs
 No. of Staff


 2002-03
 47,018
 233,555
 7


 2003-04
 98,000
 285,000
 9



  Running costs have been defined as the total cost involved in running the unit minus staffing costs.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2056 by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003, whether the minutes of all meetings of the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum will be made available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and whether it will publish a list of the research requests submitted to the forum which were (a) accepted and (b) rejected.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum will discuss these issues at its next meeting.

General Agreement on Trade in Services

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact Japan's communication to the Council for Trade in Services would have on Scottish tertiary education institutions should the proposals be accepted and qualifications in the General Agreement on Trade in Services signatory countries become equivalised.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) has lead responsibility for all matters related to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on behalf of all UK stakeholders as the regulation of international trade is a reserved area. The DTI representatives are fully engaged with current discussions around the Japanese communication to the Council for Trade in Services. Colleagues there will consult with the devolved administrations and other UK government departments as appropriate on any relevant issues that arise during the course of the negotiations. However, since the EC has not and does not intend to make any offer in the area of public sector education services, there can be no impact. GATS has no mandate to equivalise qualifications.

General Practitioners

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost is to the NHS of administration of payments to GPs.

Malcolm Chisholm: The annual cost to the NHS of the central administration of the current General Medical Services contract by the Common Services Agency is £5.1 million. It is not possible to separate out the cost of the payment element for the other central functions which include patient registration and payment verification.

  There will also be costs incurred at both health board level and GP practice level, but this information is not held centrally.

General Practitioners

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated annual cost is of administering (a) the new contracts provided for by the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill and (b) any new quality targets for GP practices arising from the bill and how many additional staff will be employed to carry this out.

Malcolm Chisholm: The new UK General Medical Services contract was accepted in a ballot of all UK GPs, the results of which were announced on 20 June 2003.

  The new contract will take effect from 1 April 2004 subject, of course, to the Scottish Parliament approving the required changes to primary legislation. Such changes are contained within the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill which was introduced on 23 June. In the meantime, work is currently under way on implementing the new contract and a national reference group and eight working groups have been set up to look at the key issues such as finance and the quality and outcomes framework. Until this work has been completed it is too early to say what the annual administration costs will be. However, the new contract does simplify some of the funding streams. The single Global Sum payment replaces 25 different fees and allowances, thereby greatly reducing the bureaucracy associated with the administration of the system.

Higher Education

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the Sorbonne Agreement of 25 May 1998 has had on tertiary education and the international mobility of Scottish students.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken towards harmonisation to create a European area of education, as outlined in the Sorbonne Agreement of 25 May 1998.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the autonomy of universities will be protected in any movement towards harmonisation, as outlined in the Sorbonne Agreement of 25 May 1998.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Bologna Agreement of 29 July 1999 obliges Scottish universities to accede to a common European system.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Bologna Agreement of 29 July 1999 will affect the autonomy of Scottish universities.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Sorbonne Agreement, and its successor the Bologna Declaration, aim to strengthen collaboration between higher education institutions across Europe and to enhance levels of mobility for staff and students by 2010. It is an inter-governmental process, dependent on the co-operation of institutions and other stakeholders in taking forward the necessary detail behind the principles of the Declaration. The process recognises the need for diversity and flexibility, and the autonomy of individual higher education institutions.

  A summary of progress made by the Scottish higher education sector towards implementing the Bologna Declaration can be found in the UK National Report at http://www.bologna-berlin2003.de/en/national_reports/index.htm This report has been produced for a ministerial conference taking place in Berlin on the Bologna process, which the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Lewis Macdonald, will attend to represent Scottish interests.

Justice

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil cases have been appealed to the House of Lords in each year since 1999 and, of these, how many received legal aid funding, detailing the costs in each case.

Cathy Jamieson: The Judicial Office of the House of Lords collate statistics on the number of Scottish cases appealed to the House of Lords. The information supplied is published annually in the Scottish Executive publication Civil Judicial Statistics which can be located on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk under the heading "publications" using the search words "Civil Judicial".

  The number of civil cases appealed to the House of Lords in each calendar year since 1999 is as set out in the following table:

  

 Calendar Year
 Appeals 
  to the House of Lords


 1999
 4


 2000
 14


 2001
 2


 2002
 7


 2003
 Not yet available



  The number of grants of legal aid for appeals to the House of Lords in each financial year since 1999 is as set out in the following table. Where cost is available, this is shown in the third column.

  

 Financial year
 Number Appealed 
  to House of Lords in which Legal Aid Granted
 Cost of Each 
  Case


 1999-2000
 1
 £50,104


 2000-01
 4
 £35,004 
  – 1 case in which final account paid


 2001-02
 2
 No final accounts 
  paid


 2002-03
 0

Licensing

Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will implement the recommendations in the report of the Nicholson Committee in full.

Cathy Jamieson: When I announced publication of the report on 19 August, I explained that it would be issued for consultation to interested parties until 19 December. The Executive will consider taking forward  implementation of the recommendations in the light of the comments received.

Licensing

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that local authorities promote training and qualifications for both licensees and staff in light of the recent publication of the report of the Nicholson Committee and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Cathy Jamieson: When I announced publication of Nicholson Report on 19 August, I indicated that the Executive would be seeking comments on the recommendations until 19 December. While the Executive broadly welcomes the recommendations on training we shall consider carefully the responses from consultees before deciding how best to take forward the recommendations.

Maternity Services

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact technological advances in neonatal patient care have had on the survival rate of babies born in Scotland.

Malcolm Chisholm: I am not aware of any evidence which would determine the impact that technological advances in neonatal patient care have had on the survival rate of babies born in Scotland. Other factors, such as developments in obstetric care and prenatal diagnosis of congenital abnormalities, and improvements in the health of the reproductive population in general will also contribute to changes in this rate.

National Insurance Contributions

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to each NHS board has been of employers' National Insurance contributions, in each year since 1998-99.

Malcolm Chisholm: The cost of providing for employer’s National Insurance contributions per NHS board area is shown in the following table.

  Employers National Insurance Contributions per NHS Board Area

  

 Board Area
 1998-99
(£000)
 1999-2000
(£000)
 2000-01
(£000)
 2001-02
(£000)
 2002-03
(£000)


 Argyll and Clyde
 10,642
 10,868
 12,312
 13,496
 13,938


 Ayrshire and Arran
 8,740
 9,099
 9,943
 10,439
 10,887


 Borders
 2,728
 2,946
 3,192
 3,486
 3,635


 Dumfries and Galloway
 4,029
 4,245
 4,553
 4,710
 4,747


 Fife
 7,217
 8,025
 8,843
 9,094
 9,387


 Forth Valley
 6,354
 6,862
 7,342
 7,566
 7,565


 Grampian
 13,011
 13,360
 15,342
 15,870
 16,441


 Greater Glasgow
 32,565
 33,482
 35,540
 37,797
 40,325


 Highland
 5,826
 5,964
 6,610
 6,992
 7,393


 Lanarkshire
 12,184
 12,811
 13,755
 14,279
 14,766


 Lothian
 22,031
 23,333
 25,663
 27,236
 28,274


 Orkney
 507
 507
 551
 577
 642


 Shetland
 583
 598
 640
 662
 694


 Tayside
 13,620
 13,797
 14,427
 14,880
 15,405


 Western Isles
 971
 1,004
 1,119
 1,170
 1,271


 Total
 141,008
 146,901
 159,832
 168,254
 175,370



  Notes:

  1. The figures represent the cost to each NHS board and their local NHS trusts of providing employers’ National Insurance contributions.

  2. The figures are taken from the published annual accounts of NHS trusts and NHS boards for each respective financial year.

  3. The figures are disclosed as Social Security Costs with the annual accounts of each NHS trust and board. Social Security Costs are deemed to be employers’ National Insurance contributions including net Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP).

National Insurance Contributions

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected costs for each NHS board are of employers' National Insurance contributions in 2003-04.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally.

National Insurance Contributions

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government regarding the cost to the NHS in Scotland of additional employers' National Insurance contributions.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues.

Planning

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what size a development must be for a green transport plan to have to be produced, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland , and whether a new football stadium development at Straiton is of such a size.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive wants to promote Green Transport Plans amongst businesses, schools, hospitals and other significant travel-generating uses. There is, however, no threshold figure for the size of a development and it is a matter for the local planning authority whether to require a green transport plan to be produced.

Planning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the consultation timetable is in respect of Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Executive's white paper on public involvement, Your place, your plan is not a consultation paper. It sets out the Executive's measures to strengthen and enhance public involvement at all stages in the land-use planning system. We will take these measures forward in an open and inclusive manner as time and resources permit.

Planning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what developments are being pursued on the interface between planning and transport, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Ministers and officials are in regular contact on a range of issues where there is an interface between planning and transport.

Planning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in examining, along with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, ways to ensure that MSPs are fully informed about the progression of planning cases and appeals within their constituencies and regions, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: A planning web page is available on the internet at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning/pc/pc.asp. This provides information on planning applications that come before the Scottish ministers showing, on a weekly update basis, the current status of each case. Cases are presently listed by local authority area, and work is on-going to also identify each case by MSP constituency.

  The Executive’s Inquiry Reporter’s Unit also has a website – www.scotland.gov.uk/planning_appeals/seiru. Within the site is a planning appeals search facility which makes it possible to view progress on appeals and retrieve appeal decision letters online, without charge.

  The use of ICT to provide and receive planning related information is constantly under review and further refinements, consulting as necessary with the Parliament’s Reference Centre, will be introduced as appropriate.

Planning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the proposals for (a) a national consultative group on planning and (b) local planning forums, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on working with local authorities to produce guidance on neighbour notification, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the proposal that reporters for local plan inquiries be appointed independently by its Inquiry Reporters Unit, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the proposal to pass responsibility for neighbour notification to local authorities, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on amending the necessary legislation to extend the time for responding to a neighbourhood notification, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in producing guidance material to ensure that official consultation responses on planning applications are open to all, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Executive is committed to bringing forward the measures contained in Your place, your plan as time and resources permit. The timetable for taking this work forward has yet to be finalised.

Planning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on its pilot projects with South Lanarkshire Council and Highland Council on investigating ways of modernising the development planning system, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Under the pilot projects, the Hamilton Local Plan in South Lanarkshire and the Wester Ross Local Plan in Highland are progressing well towards publication of finalised draft plans. The project has helped to support the view that barriers to better plan making relate more to cultural and management issues rather than legislation or regulations. Both South Lanarkshire and Highland Councils have considered new ways of engaging with the public and other stakeholders, including opinion meters and photographic competitions, which will be of interest to other authorities.

Planning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will make planning appeal inquiries more accessible, as identified in Your place, your plan , its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: We published the consultation paper Modernising Public Local Inquiries in July 2003. The paper looks at the scope for modernising the planning inquiry process and at opportunities for better practice. The consultation paper is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 28275).

  The closing date for responses to this public consultation is 28 November 2003.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which prisons the extended STOP programme for sexual offences will operate.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  HM Prison Peterhead completed the first run of the Extended STOP programme for sex offenders in 2003.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been undertaken into the reasons for the resignation of prison psychologists.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS carried out an analysis in 2003 of the reasons for resignations given by SPS psychologists. The primary reason was for higher salaries, typically in the NHS but the location of Peterhead was also a factor.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the experience is of psychologists in each prison involved in the STOP programme for sexual offenders; how long each psychologist has been in post, and how many vacancies for prison psychologists there are at present.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS has found the experience of using psychologists as members of teams delivering programmes to be generally beneficial. Information on the time individual psychologists have been in such posts is not available. The psychologists have a range of general forensic psychology skills and experience. There are currently three vacancies for psychologists within the SPS.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many psychologist-led groups there have been at HM Prison Peterhead since the STOP programme for sexual offenders commenced.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Since 2000, 16 groups have been run by multi-disciplinary teams.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to eliminate multiple occupancy at HM Prison Peterhead and what the timetable is for such plans.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows

  As a consequence of the need to manage unprecedented prisoner numbers, approximately 40 prisoners were transferred from HM Prison Glenochil to HM Prison Peterhead. We have no immediate plans to reduce the prisoner numbers at HM Prison Peterhead.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the extended STOP programme for sexual offenders will commence.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows

  It commenced in 2002.

Prostitutes

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement on the Ministerial Working Group on Prostitution, what the remit and timetable of the group will be.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration the Ministerial Working Group on Prostitution will give to an exit strategy for prostitutes.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether eradication of prostitution will form part of the strategy of the Ministerial Working Group on Prostitution.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Ministerial Working Group on Prostitution will be involved in the development of its proposal to introduce an offence of kerb crawling.

Hugh Henry: The Expert Group on Prostitution, chaired by Sandra Hood OBE, will report to ministers on the first stage of their work in autumn 2004.

  The remit of the group is to review the legal, policing, health and social justice issues surrounding prostitution in Scotland and to consider options for the future. Amongst other issues the group will discuss the eradication of prostitution and exit strategies for prostitutes. In addition, the group has been asked to look at the proposals for a new offence of kerb crawling.

Prostitutes

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will define "kerb crawling" in the development of its proposal to introduce such an offence.

Hugh Henry: The definition of "kerb crawling" will be a matter for consideration in the discussions of the Expert Group on Prostitution.

Public Sector

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which of its departments, Executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies are currently considering relocation and when decisions on any relocations are expected to be made.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive is committed to the relocation policy and there is currently 13 relocation reviews under way or planned.

  

 Accountant in Bankruptcy
 Decision expected, end 2003


 NHS Health Scotland
 Decision expected, end 2003


 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of 
  Education
 Decision expected, end 2003


 Mental Health Tribunal Service
 Decision expected, end 2003


 NHS Education for Scotland
 Decision expected, end 2003


 Risk Management Authority
 Decision expected, end 2003


 VisitScotland
 Decision expected, end 2003


 NHS Quality Improvement
 Decision expected, end 2004


 Registers of Scotland
 Decision expected, end 2004


 Scottish Arts Council
 Decision expected, end 2004


 Scottish Building Standards Agency
 Decision expected, end 2004


 Sportscotland
 Decision expected, end 2004


 Mental Welfare Commission
 Decision expected, early 2005

Public Sector Staff

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many public service employees are currently serving as volunteer reservists in Iraq.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on public service employees is not held centrally. It is known, however, that one member of the Scottish Executive core staff is currently serving as a volunteer reservist. The location of the posting is not known.

Roads

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current legislative framework is regarding parking on pavements; whether it has any plans to amend the framework to allow local authorities to more easily regulate and control such parking, and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Nicol Stephen: Local authorities have powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to restrict or prohibit pavement parking by the making of a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO). The procedures for the making of TRO's are contained in the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1999.

  There are no current plans to amend this legislation.

Scottish Natural Heritage

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects Scottish Natural Heritage to produce the revised Scottish Outdoor Access Code for approval by ministers and the Parliament.

Allan Wilson: Under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, the production of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code is a matter for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). I understand SNH are currently considering the comments received following their consultation on a draft code and expect to be in a position to forward the revised Scottish Outdoor Access Code to ministers later this year. Following consideration and approval by ministers, the code will be presented to the Parliament for its approval.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether schools are able to offer additional payments to teachers for taking supported learning and homework classes after the timetabled school day.

Peter Peacock: This is a matter for local authorities.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that principal teachers have the experience and knowledge to carry out quality assurance and monitor effective teaching and learning in each subject area for which they are responsible.

Peter Peacock: We have recently published, and are in the process of issuing to all teachers, a document Continuing Professional Development for Educational Leaders which forms part of the National Framework for Continuing Professional Development. The document was prepared in collaboration with teachers, local authorities, academics and other stakeholders. The purpose of the document is to provide teachers, schools and local authorities with a framework to assist the development of leadership and management skills in the teaching workforce. It will be for the teachers and their line managers to ensure that they have access to appropriate continuing professional development opportunities at the most appropriate stage of their career that allows them to expand their skills and knowledge including quality assurance.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many principal teachers have been employed in each local authority area in each of the last five years and what projections have been made for the employment of such teachers.

Peter Peacock: The following table gives the historic information requested. The teacher workforce planning exercise which is carried out annually does not include projections of specific grades of teacher.

  Number of Principal Teachers (Headcount) by Local Authority

  

 
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002


 Scotland
 7,140
 7,198
 7,182
 7,221
 7,162


 Aberdeen City
 310
 310
 304
 304
 292


 Aberdeenshire
 388
 392
 387
 398
 404


 Angus
 168
 165
 166
 166
 165


 Argyll and Bute
 137
 139
 139
 137
 140


 Clackmannanshire
 66
 66
 66
 68
 63


 Dumfries and Galloway
 271
 266
 266
 264
 256


 Dundee City
 216
 216
 222
 218
 217


 East Ayrshire
 175
 171
 171
 170
 166


 East Dunbartonshire
 179
 181
 180
 178
 180


 East Lothian
 113
 113
 115
 120
 121


 East Renfrewshire
 138
 139
 139
 140
 139


 Edinburgh, City of
 450
 448
 450
 462
 469


 Eilean Siar
 47
 47
 50
 50
 47


 Falkirk
 174
 173
 174
 172
 172


 Fife
 422
 440
 446
 456
 453


 Glasgow City
 638
 664
 667
 662
 639


 Highland
 347
 345
 351
 350
 346


 Inverclyde
 146
 144
 140
 144
 141


 Midlothian
 122
 127
 125
 127
 121


 Moray
 181
 180
 180
 183
 182


 North Ayrshire
 192
 195
 177
 194
 197


 North Lanarkshire
 502
 507
 499
 498
 502


 Orkney Islands
 36
 35
 35
 36
 39


 Perth and Kinross
 180
 181
 182
 179
 179


 Renfrewshire
 253
 255
 256
 253
 238


 Scottish Borders
 167
 169
 172
 173
 170


 Shetland Islands
 37
 35
 36
 36
 37


 South Ayrshire
 175
 177
 175
 175
 174


 South Lanarkshire
 408
 412
 406
 409
 407


 Stirling
 138
 135
 135
 133
 130


 West Dunbartonshire
 138
 147
 146
 139
 148


 West Lothian
 226
 224
 225
 227
 228



  Source: annual school censuses.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many principal teachers of guidance have been employed in each local authority area in each of the last five years and what projections have been made for the employment of such teachers.

Peter Peacock: Information on the number of principal teachers of guidance employed by local authorities for the last five years is not held centrally. Incomplete data is available from the last teacher census in 1998 and that is set out in the following table. The teacher workforce planning exercise only projects requirements for the total number of teachers required and no projection has been made regarding the numbers of principal teachers of guidance.

  Number of Principal Teachers of Guidance, 1998 Secondary School Census

  The Census of Secondary Teachers had a 94% Response Rate)

  

 Aberdeen City
 15


 Aberdeenshire
 11


 Angus
 5


 Argyll and Bute
 4


 Clackmannanshire
 4


 Dumfries and Galloway
 3


 Dundee City
 6


 East Ayrshire
 5


 East Dunbartonshire
 4


 East Lothian
 3


 East Renfrewshire
 3


 Edinburgh, City of
 32


 Eilean Siar
 -


 Falkirk
 -


 Fife
 6


 Glasgow City
 10


 Highland
 -


 Inverclyde
 4


 Midlothian
 -


 Moray
 6


 North Ayrshire
 5


 North Lanarkshire
 9


 Orkney Islands
 -


 Perth and Kinross
 2


 Renfrewshire
 3


 Scottish Borders
 -


 Shetland Islands
 -


 South Ayrshire
 4


 South Lanarkshire
 6


 Stirling
 2


 West Dunbartonshire
 3


 West Lothian
 6

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures were put in place to support students and probationary teachers when the post of senior teacher was abolished.

Peter Peacock: None. There is no requirement for a particular grade of teacher to be the nominated supporter for student teachers or probationer teachers. Support can be given by all levels of experienced teaching staff.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many principal teacher posts have been merged as a result of the implementation of the McCrone agreement.

Peter Peacock: This information is not held centrally. It is a matter for local authorities to determine staffing issues at local level.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the implementation of accreditation for prior learning under the McCrone agreement.

Peter Peacock: Good progress has been made on making provision for the accreditation of prior learning (APL) as part of the Chartered Teacher programme. The Scottish Executive recently sent to all registered teachers a leaflet describing the Chartered Teacher programme and the accreditation of prior learning (APL). All teachers taking a Chartered Teacher programme are required to complete module 1 of the programme. On successful completion of module 1, the teacher can choose between one of two APL routes.

  The first route will be handled by providers as part of their programme designed to meet the standard for Chartered Teacher and will allow a teacher to claim up to a maximum of 50% of the standard by APL.

  The second route will be handled by the General Teaching Council for Scotland and will allow teachers to make a 100% claim against the standard by APL.

  Alternatively the teacher can choose to complete the whole programme.

Teachers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the employment of the 3,500 additional non-teaching staff to provide support for teachers.

Peter Peacock: The agreement A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century included a commitment to introduce approximately the equivalent of 3,500 support staff into schools by 31 March 2004. Authorities have been provided with £50 million annually from March 2001. It is a matter for authorities how the funds are spent but within the overall intention of reducing the administrative burdens on teachers. Some authorities have, for example, invested in capital equipment such as improved management systems. A working group of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers has been established to monitor the impact. It has yet to report.